Digital technology can be a powerful force for social good and can help people to become mentally stronger and more resilient. For example, positive prosocial peer interactions through social media platforms and Internet chatrooms etc. can be really empowering and supportive. However, I do recognise that social media can also be associated with negative outcomes […]
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Compassion fatigue is what happens when you see the same terrible suffering day after day. When I was reporting on the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean, talking about the people who drowned on the treacherous crossing, people would say ‘I’ve heard all that before.’ But it was a different story and different victims. There were […]
The Royal College of Psychiatrists has produced a special pack of mental health information for employers and employees to mark World Mental Health Day 2017 which is today – 10 October. This year’s theme, set by the World Federation for Mental Health, is mental health in the workplace. Hundreds of thousands of workers will experience […]
Murderers can’t control the subconscious body language which conveys their guilt. ‘Even the most confident, hardened killers can give themselves away with tiny signs and gestures from the face, body and voice that suggest that they are lying,’ explains Cliff Lansley, a behavioural scientist. ‘The key is to know what you are looking for – the reliable […]
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On World Mind Matters Day 2017, research funded by the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), of laws and policies in 52 countries of the Commonwealth reveals that only 48 per cent of Commonwealth countries have a mental health policy. Low income countries are more likely to have mental health policies than high income ones although numbers […]
An overview of the healthcare systems in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries (OECD) and elsewhere. While money, career improvement and a change of lifestyle are important factors for expats, health provision can also play a crucial role when choosing a destination. More so if the expat has specific healthcare needs and is considering […]
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The short life of Charlie Gard seems now to be coming to an end. His parents have conceded that their son can spend his final days and hours in a hospice and not, as they wished at home, although the details remain to be decided. The case revolved around a battle of Charlie’s ‘best interests’. […]
The news has just emerged that Charlie Gard’s parents have given up their legal fight to take Charlie to the United States for experimental treatment. This was a fight underpinned by love, hope and courage and with a very sad ending. The case was fraught with uncertainty and sadly, the healthcare team and Charlie’s parents […]
In the High Court hearing in the case of Charlie Gard, held on Friday 14th July 2017, the judge ordered a clinical ethicist to chair what Counsel for the parents described as ‘maybe the most critical meeting this case has had’. This is a multi-disciplinary meeting of healthcare professionals, to be held today (Monday), which […]
“Doctors are not border patrol,” Dr Paquita de Zulueta stresses, “nor are we the Home Office.” Such distinctions – no matter how forceful – do not always put refugees in the UK at ease when they need healthcare. Refugees often do not access treatment because they fear being reported. Sometimes, they are denied primary healthcare because […]